Wordsmith Classic Material / Rockstrumentals LP
When I first got this album, I thought to myself ‘Great some chump jumping on the Neptuines / N.E.R.D. bandwagon’, with its one CD of hiphop (‘Classic Material’) and another CD full of self proclaimed ‘Rockstrumentals’. Luckily, after I’d plucked up enough courage to pick one out the 2 CD’s to subject my ears to, I was surprised to hear something not only refreshing, but damn right dope.
‘Rockstrumentals’ isn’t straight up rock, more hiphop beats with some nice sounding riffs, chords and solos laced over the top. A massive variety is on offer, from the aggressive, really hype tracks such as ‘Firestorm’ were Wordsmith beats the distorted riff within an inch of its existence with some angry lyrics, to ‘Wildchild’ with its more subtle, futuristic sounding production and heart felt words. From start to finish ‘Rockstrumentals’ brings together Rock, Hiphop and Wordsmith, shakes it around a bit and comes up with a unique blend.
‘Classic Material’ whilst being vastly different from the other CD, maintains some real constancy. Wordsmith seems to pull off both styles, whilst maintaining a core identity. ‘Bring Tha Noise’ which sounds like it really could have been produced by Premier, shows how Wordsmith is still more than adept to some straight up bomb bap, whilst ‘Power’ with its inspiring lyrics and emotive production links really well to the CD’s title of ‘Classic Material’!!! Great track!
There really are far too many tracks to comment on, with all the delights on offer, but what is worth commenting on is the weight of great tracks that comes with this release. Ok, they could have been released separately and yes some tracks need mastering a little better to get rid of some painful sharp notes, but what shines through is an emcee with a real identity, making real hiphop… oh with a little rock thrown in for good measure.
- 2Hip | profile
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